World No. 1 and last edition's individual runner-up Doo Hoi Kem lived up to her reputation with a straight-game win over India's top junior Sagarika Mukherjee in the opener before a gallant Ayhika Mukherjee snatched the second singles to draw level at 1-1 at the NSCI's Sardar Vallabhai Patel Indoor Stadium here.
Mukherjee overcame Minnie Wai Yam Soo in a thriller as she romped to a 11-8, 7-11, 12-10, 9-11, 12-10 win in a tight contest. Priyadarshini Das lost the third singles in straight games, before Doo Hoi Kem sealed Hong Kong's win with another straight-game victory over Sagarika.
The South Korean cadet girls also registered a similar 3-0 win over India in the quarter-finals.
Kim Youjin gave the Koreans the perfect start with an easy win over Pune's Shruti Amrute before world No. 8 Kim Jiho beat Naina in straight games but not before enduring an early challenge from the Indian in an opening game that stretched well into extra points.
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Late on Friday evening, India's cadet girls made it to the knockout stage after thrashing Jordan 3-0, while the junior boys, who failed to make it to the quarterfinals, beat Thailand 3-2 to feature in the 9-14 positional matches.
Meanwhile, Korea shocked defending champions China in the semi-finals to set up a cadet boys title clash with last edition's runners-up Chinese Taipei.
Defending junior boys and girls champions China, however, lived up to their reputations and advanced to the finals, with the girls setting up a title clash with last edition's runners-up Japan.